ARMED CITIZEN

The robber who burst inside a food market waving a gun seemed surprised to find eight shoppers inside. He ordered everyone to the floor, firing shots in the customers' direction and twice shooting store owner Mustapha Kassou. Police say that's when a man with a concealed-carry permit leapt to his feet and drew his .45-cal. Colt revolver. He told the robber to drop the gun. When the robber didn't comply, the armed citizen shot him, took his gun and held him for police. Onlookers encouraged the armed citizen to shoot the robber again, but he kept his cool and exercised better judgment. Kassou is recovering from his injuries. "[The armed citizen] saved a lot of lives," he said. "He was like an angel who came to save everybody." (Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA, 07/15/09)

---

Two men learned their neighbor had just filled a prescription for painkillers and quickly hatched a plan to steal them. Perhaps the men should've thought things through a little more carefully; they were aware that their victim owned a handgun. One of the men waited in a car while his accomplice entered the home and began viciously punching and choking the homeowner. Battered, the homeowner retrieved his handgun and shot the intruder, killing him. The other suspect was nabbed shortly thereafter. The homeowner was treated for injuries. (The Evening Sun, Hanover, PA, 08/08/09)

---

An electrician was asleep with his wife when they were awakened by a knock at the door. The man feared something wasn't quite right about the early morning visitor, so he put a handgun in his pocket just in case. As he opened the door, police say two suspects tried to push their way inside. The man drew the gun from his pocket and fired twice, hitting both suspects. The suspects fired a return shot as they fled. One of the suspects died nearby. Police were seeking his accomplice. (News Sentinel, Knoxville, TN, 08/06/09)

---

Police say Henry Ward was lucky to be armed when a home invader attacked him with a piece of concrete. The bizarre event started when the suspect drove his pickup into a creek early one morning. He ditched the vehicle and began pounding the door of Ward's home. When Ward answered, the suspect began beating him with a piece of concrete. The assailant entered the home and approached the bedroom, where Ward's wife was calling 9-1-1. Ward quickly retrieved his .380-cal. pistol. He ran inside and shouted at the suspect, who charged him. Ward shot the suspect three times. The intruder ran outside and collapsed on the lawn. He'll face charges after his release from the hospital. (Stilwell Democrat-Journal, Stilwell, OK, 08/29/09)

---

When a young woman ran to 70-year-old Virginia Hawes' home and said her boyfriend was assaulting her, Hawes phoned the police. Authorities say the young woman waited with Hawes, but her rampaging boyfriend showed up before police could arrive. Hawes warned him to stay off her property, but he ignored her. Hawes's 23-year-old grandson picked up a shovel and tried to block the boyfriend's advance, but he pushed the grandson and took the shovel. With the situation quickly escalating, Hawes ran inside to get her .38-cal. revolver. "I put the gun up and told him to get back or I will shoot," she recalls. "He called me an old [expletive] and he kept coming at me and holding the shovel." Hawes fired a shot. "He went down like a tree," she says. "I didn't want to hurt him but I didn't want him to hurt me." (Lansing State Journal, Lansing, MI, 08/23/09)

---

An intoxicated man got into a fight with his girlfriend as she was driving him home from a comedy club. He demanded to be let out of the vehicle and his girlfriend complied. He walked to a rural residence and pounded on the door, claiming to be a police officer who wanted to ask them a question. When that didn't work, he said he had a knife and would stab the home's occupants. The male homeowner replied he had a gun, and he would shoot the suspect if he came inside. "The only smart decision he made was not to enter that home," Johnson County, Ind., Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Doug Cox said. "He's alive today because he didn't enter that house." Police found the suspect stumbling down the road. He told officers he would beat them up and claimed to be an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation looking into a crime. Police checked with the FBI—the suspect is not an agent. (WISH-TV, Indianapolis, IN, 08/13/09)